Jason Martin & How I Applied His AestheticTo My Life

When I was in the middle of my A-level Art course I stumbled across an artist who I have really come to like. His name is Jason Martin. His work manages to merge painting and sculpture into one cohesive moment (see below for an example of his work). There are violent and passionate qualities in his work, but also some very fragile and romantic aspects too. The way the paint solidifies in a state that still represents liquid and its movement is reason for this. For water can be unpredictable and malleable. It changes at will and can be a force to be reckoned with, and Martin captures that spectacularly. But, the motion of water and its ever-malleable state means that it changes within an instant. Disrupting the shape of said instant to give way to a new shape of another instant. So the fact that Martin captures those moments of fragile aggression is beautiful. As it means we can stare at that moment when all the components came together to produce this vision for as long as we want. The colourisation of his works add physical dazzle but also a vibrancy of personality. For instance with the piece below, the gold gives it a shine which in turn allows the light to hit and bounce off of its contours to emphasize its structure and detail. The gold doesn't just give the piece a royal/supreme characteristic on a superficial level, but gives it a physical depth to justify such royalty. 

Jason Martin, Oaxaca (gold), 2011Pure pigment on panel60 x 48 cm

Loving how the paint stands on and off of the panel its on I felt inspired to adapt this design into a piece in my own bedroom. Being at university I am in a room that many a student has lived in. Thus it, my room, has been given a general and unstimulated colour palette to, i'm guessing,  make it easier for each years inhabitant to make it their own? Who knows for certain. In this room of mine I have a very large cork pin board. For months decorated and re-decorated it with images I liked ... to inject some personality into my room. Though, everything was unsatisfying. I admired the way one of my flatmates had designed her board. She had gotten herself a sheet of fabric and covered the board in it. This instantly made her room seem more homely and inviting. Giving her her own space to feel herself in. Now, I didn't have much fabric at the ready. I had used the only fabric I had to make cushion covers in preparation for university! Little did I know the personality they radiated wouldn't suffice. I resorted to using the throw on my bed as a makeshift board cover. Already I felt that my room looked better. A couple of weeks went by with my room looking like this. Though I liked it, it felt rigid and not fully 'me.' I didn't really know what to do. I resolved to get more fabric and layer it ontop of the pre-pinned fabric. I am crazy for layers. It didn't take me long to put my thriftiness and impatience into practice as I found a collection of blankets I liked and figured I could use them to create a more 'me' board. I scurried home and instantly began tearing down my board and arranging it how I wanted. It was a very spontaneous process and I just went with the flow. Having a pre-existent knowledge of Jason Martin  his work kept popping into my head as I pinned the material to my board. I aimed to create a relaxed board of draped fabric which, through the pins, had these moments of tension (you can see my board above). I ran out of fabric half way through the process but I was so driven that I didn't want to stop. So I searched my wardrobe and drawers to find clothes I no longer wore and I put those on the board and hung them how I saw fit. I tried to create an interaction between the fabrics - having the curve and caress each other. Looking at this board now I am so happy with it. I know it's no masterpiece in comparison to Martin's work. But, it does what Martin's work does for me. Which is that it captures a moment. To me that board represents a moment of inspiration and drive that could have been broken by lack of material.  It was instead made by an abundance of old and new - like the/my mind. It shows how I have merged the two together to create something hodgepodge but which has a very coherent narrative. 

I think that this is me relaying that art is what you make of it and you can make it. Whatever capability and whatever vision, regardless of acclaim or what not, a piece of art you create says something about you. Make it say what you want.